In Taivalmaja

(Last post of camp school in Ilomantsi to find out more read 5 previous posts)

During the camp school we also spent time in the camping center called Taivalmaja. In the evenings we had sauna and because we had the opportunity we also swam. The first day we were in Taivalmaja there was still little pit of ice on the lake so the water was freezing! It didn't stop us. We also enjoyed the lake just watching it, canoeing etc. The weather was beautiful and I could have stayed on the dock hours. I love watching how the sun sets on a calm lake.

We also ate a lot! And the food was good! Simpel, tasty, ordinary home food with local specialities like carelian pies which are nowadays very common all over Finland but the real good ones you get in Ilomantsi, vatruska which is a pastry made of potatoes and inside of it is rice (I love vatruskas and will buy them whenever I find them but the best place to eat them is in the Parppeinpirtti restaurant where you can actually see ladies making them) and the unique speciality sultsina! See how we ate it:

Voilá! I can assure it's good! I remember when I was a child how I ate them one after one in one wedding. And I was a very light eater. I especially asked if we could have them one evening. I really appriciate how our camp school leaders wanted to have all our wishes filled so we also had sultsinas even tough they had to have an extra person in kitchen that night because it's hard job to brown these crusts on a cooker. The crust is made of rye flour and the inside is plain rice borridge.

Well, on a camp one must have pancakes made on campfire!

We really had a perfect camp school! I would do it again and maybe with the next class I get to do it again after few years. I also hope that my pupils had lifelong memories from the camp school. It's time to say goodbye for Ilomantsi - at least for now!